Wal-Mart, your friendly neighborhood general store, has again displayed an astonishing lack of self awareness with the sale of a Banksy print called "Destroy Capitalism." Calling Wal-Mart "the very symbol of capitalism gone wrong," Death and Taxes reports that the retail giant can legally sell the graffiti print because Banksy doesn't copyright his work.
Building upon the irony, however, is the report that Wal-Mart Marketplace has also featured this print by artist Eddie Colla, which says, "If You Want To Achieve Greatness Stop Asking For Permission." The print is misattributed to Banksy, and yes, is on sale without permission.
Colla, who plans to sue the retailer, has created a limited edition print called, “It’s Only Stealing If You Get Caught," in response. Profits from the sales will go towards Colla's legal fees.
Update: Wal-Mart has removed the items from its Marketplace, reports the LAist, and has released this statement from a Walmart rep:
Wal-Mart has These items are sold through our Marketplace third-party sellers Wayfair and PlumStruck. We’ve taken action to disable the one item in question by Callo, and it will be unpublished later tonight around midnight PT.
We will also instruct Wayfair and Plumstruck to review their artwork to ensure the descriptions are accurate. They’ve provided great products and experiences to our customers and are contracted to comply with product copyright, safety, testing and certification requirements. We’ll work closely with them on the review.
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